Game 23 – Flames vs. Predators Live Chat

Im not sure what to make of the Preds organization this year. It’s been a club I’ve respected from afar becaue Poile and Trotz have always managed to spin straw into gold.

Not to much recently however. The duo made some really curious moves the last 6-12 months or so. Poile’s team lost a lot of talent in the summer and he added to those issues by dealing away Lombardi and Franson to the Leafs for pennies on the dollar. Their forward corps, as a result, is perhaps the very worst in the entire league from top-to-bottom, which is the reason they have a terrible shot differential.

On top of that, the typically frugal Poile re-signed Pekka Rinne to perhaps one of the worst contracts in recent memory, despite the fact his team has precious few dollars to spend, a couple of the best defenders in the league to re-sign coming up and an ugrent need to re-stock talent up front.

Finally, the Preds took a chance on Niclas Bergfors this off-season, only for Trotz to take an immediate dislike to the erstwhile Thrasher/Devil, causing the org to cast him aside via waivers. That’s despite the fact that Bergfors has been a capable scorer and puck mover during his young career – which is precisely what the Preds need the most.

Nashville has always been a club clawing to stay in the NHL’s middle class due to their limited budget. I fear with the way the decisions have been recently they will finally start to tumble into the abyss with other perpetual also-rans. Here’s hoping I’m wrong.